Stephen J. Matlock's Blog, page 25
February 3, 2019
Are #BlackLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter Opposite Sides? A Conversation
An interesting conversation in church this morning, Our pastor, after reading a few books about race and conciliation (Including Jemar Tisby’s “The Color of Compromise”) talked about this issue of conciliation, and as part of the message brought up two … Continue reading →
February 2, 2019
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 4: Optimism
“By pretending the world was virtually problem-free, my family culture left me grossly underprepared to solve problems.” The 50s and 60s were a time in America unlike any before or after. We had won a war (with the uncredited assistance … Continue reading →
February 1, 2019
Believe
Something I think about every so often is how we are sometimes two people. We are people who think we are driven by facts and logic. And we are the people who are driven by our fears and our hopes. … Continue reading →
January 30, 2019
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 3: Race Versus Class
“Which one is the real issue?” The temptation when confronting a difficult issue is to find a subsidiary issue, make that primary, resolve it, and be done. So it is with race and class. These two issues can be conflated … Continue reading →
January 29, 2019
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 2: Family Values
“One of the things my white mother could not teach me was to honor feelings of outrage.” This chapter is a short one—about family origins. What kind of family did you grow up in? My family is like all families, … Continue reading →
January 28, 2019
Why Isn’t the Black Church the Default?
Boy howdy. I’m listening to a podcast by The Witness (which is a black Christian collective that discusses theology and other issues related to and centered upon the black church), and today I’m listening to a response to the NYT … Continue reading →
January 27, 2019
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 1: What Wasn’t Said
This chapter* opens with a provocative quote by the author: “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALL THE INDIANS?” I asked my mother on a Friday morning ride home from the library. Gotta tell you, this not a question I had growing up … Continue reading →
January 26, 2019
If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see
James Baldwin said this, I’m told: “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” I can’t find the source of this quote, but it is widely attributed to him, and as I … Continue reading →
January 23, 2019
Jesus of the Scars–Edward Shillito
Today’s blog entry is just the poetry from Edward Shillito “Jesus of the Scars” by Edward Shillito If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;We must have sight of thorn-pricks on … Continue reading →
January 21, 2019
The Flawed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.–can we follow a man of his weaknesses?
I read on a friend’s wall a comment about Dr. King that was an analysis of his political leanings. After all the attempts to show that Dr. King was not a Marxist-Leninist or even just a garden-variety Communist, an interlocutor … Continue reading →
